September/October 2015

Valdosta is one of the first eight cities in the state to convert to new Light-Emitting Diode (LED) Roadway Lighting offered by Georgia Power. As a result, more than 3,600 of Val-dosta’s 6,200 street light fixtures will be replaced at no cost to the city—part of a Georgia Power capital investment project to install approximately 407,000 LED roadway lighting fixtures in communities across the state. This initiative was one of many that resulted in Valdosta being named the Smart Energy Municipality of the Year by the Technology Asso-ciation of Georgia in December 2014.

In August, Georgia Power began replacing 100- and 150-watt light fixtures located on city streets with the new LED light fixture. They will also begin replacing 250-watt light fixtures in October. LED Roadway Lighting is a relatively new technology that will provide many features and benefits at no extra cost to the city. The broad-spectrum white light al-lows the eyes to see better and has improved color rendering and small-target visibility, all of which enhance safety and security throughout the city. Citizens will notice the reduction of sky glow and even distribution of light on the roadway, as this improvement is intended to effectively light up the streets and sidewalks, not the skyline or neighborhood yards.

The energy-efficient lighting also has a longer life-expectancy of up to 10 years and will be maintained by Georgia Power. Each LED roadway fixture will have a networked lighting control installed that will allow for remote monitoring and diagnostics, enabling Georgia Power to find and fix lights that are not working properly long before anyone else can detect a problem.

The installation of LED Roadway Lighting is expected to be completed by late December 2015. Citizens may access the grid map, FAQ sheets, photos and other information at www.valdostacity.com.

City Beat

Valdosta Reduces Carbon Footprint With New LED Roadway Lighting

The Valdosta Fire Department and the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) will host a special event on Sept. 3 at 12 p.m., at VFD Station #1, to celebrate their 61-year partnership in raising money and awareness to benefit children and adults affected by muscle disease throughout the Valdosta area.

This event will also kick off the firefight-ers’ annual Fill the Boot fundraising cam-paign that will take place from Thursday, Sept. 3, to Saturday, Sept. 5, from 3-7 p.m. each day, at the following locations:

Wal-Mart Supercenters 340 Norman Drive

3274 Perimeter Road

Winn Dixie Supermarkets 4036 Bemiss Road

1105 Madison Highway 3200 North Ashley Street

Funds raised through

the 2015 Fill the Boot Drive will help support MDA’s programs of research, spe-cialized health care services, and day-to-day support for those struggling with the disease.

For more infor-mation, call the VFD at (229) 333-1835.

Fill the Boot DriveKicks Off Sept. 3-5

September 1 is the first day of National Preparedness Month. The City of Valdosta en-courages citizens to participate in the theme “Don’t Wait. Communicate. Make Your Emer-gency Plan Today.” Now is a great time to make an emergency communication plan for your family. Citizens are urged to spend time with family members and talk about how you will contact each other and where you will meet should disaster strike.

For more information on how to create a family or business disaster plan or for additional preparedness tips, visit www.ready.ga.gov.

Don’t Wait. Communicate.

Citizens who feel good about recycling their aluminum cans to protect the environ-ment may now have the added satisfaction of knowing that their efforts are also helping burn survivors, both locally and across the state of Georgia.

The Georgia Firefighters Burn Founda-tion’s Project REACH (Recycling Every Aluminum Can Helps) is a year-round alu-minum can recycling program that has—over the last 27 years—recycled more than four million pounds of aluminum and raised more than $2.2 million for the GFBF’s mis-sion and programs. Locally, the Valdosta Fire Department has been collecting cans for the past 10 years and has contributed thousands of dollars to the statewide effort while also keeping these recyclables out of the landfill.

The VFD has a REACH trailer at Fire Sta-tion #1 that serves as the collection point for local businesses and organizations who want to donate their empty aluminum cans for the recycling program.

Every aluminum can helps. The VFD wel-comes any and all support with Program REACH and the aid it provides to burn sur-vivors. For more information, call the VFD at (229) 333-1835.

Recycling

Program

Helps

Burn

Survivors

The City of Valdosta strives to maintain a proactive business environment and en-courages new development in our commu-nity. These new businesses provide jobs, enrich the fabric of our community, and stimulate the local economy. A link located on the City of Valdosta’s website can aid anyone from the first-time entrepreneur to the seasoned developer with primary steps to building a successful business in the city limits.

Starting a business is exciting; however, it can also be challenging. The First Step meeting was designed to be one of the “first steps” in establishing a business. First Step meetings are held every Thursday morning at 9:30 a.m. and last approximate-ly 45 minutes. The meetings are informal discussions that give potential developers a chance to meet with representatives from city departments such as Engineering, Fire,

Inspections, Arbor Division, Planning/Zon-ing, Public Works and Utilities. Due to the availability of seating, citizens must reserve a spot at the meeting in advance.

From the city’s website, citizens may access information about First Step and Pre-Application meetings, as well as plan submittal and review, permitting and in-spection processes, obtaining a Certificate of Occupancy, and applying for a business license. Additional links on the city’s web-site provide information about the City of Valdosta Land Development Regulations, Valdosta Small Emerging Business Pro-gram, Valdosta State University Small Busi-ness Development Center, and the Valdos-ta-Lowndes County Chamber of Commerce and more.

Contact the city’s Planning and Zoning Division at (229) 259-3563 for additional information about taking that first step.

Take theFirst Step

for your business

Residential, commercial and industrial landowners are required to mow and main-tain the portion of public right-of-way which is adjacent to their property between the right-of-way line (their property line) and the street curb or edge of pavement, according to city Ordinance No. 2011-37, Section 16 LDR, Section 332-1.

“It’s pretty simple,” said Public Works Di-rector Richard Hardy. “Residents and prop-erty owners should maintain their property all the way to the sidewalk. If there is no

sidewalk, then to the curb. If there is no curb, then to the street. Maintaining means keeping the grass cut, the curb or sidewalk edged and the property free of litter. If citi-zens will maintain their property out to the sidewalk, curb or street, the Public Works staff will take care of the rest.”

By taking care of the right-of-ways, citi-zens are helping to keep Valdosta safe and beautiful. For more information, contact the Public Works Department at (229) 259-3590.

Maintain the Right-of-Way

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The City of Valdosta will host a 9/11 Re-membrance Ceremony on Friday, Sept. 11, at 8:45 a.m. at Valdosta Fire Station #1, lo-cated at 106 S. Oak Street. Valdosta Fire Chief Freddie Broome will preside over the ceremony in remembrance of those who lost their lives that day 14 years ago and in honor of the continued efforts of public safety professionals.

City leadership, public safety personnel, city staff and other citizens will pause to

remember the innocent victims and honor the brave heroes who perished during the tragic event. The combined Valdosta Honor Guard and the Valdosta Fire Department Pipe and Drum Corps will perform, and a special flag presentation by the Woodsmen of the World will also take place during the ceremony.

For more information, contact the VFD at (229) 333-1836.

ValdostaRemembers

9 / 1 1

Mind Your GreaseFats, oils, and grease (FOG) are a real

“pain in the drain.” When citizens allow FOG products—such as butter, dairy items, cooking oil, meat fat, and salad dressing to go down the drains in their homes or busi-nesses, it can cause many costly problems. Since oil and water do not mix well, these oily substances adhere to the inside of the sewer lines, harden, and eventually result in blockages of household plumbing and city sewer lines, which may also cause sewer backups in the home and sewer overflows in the sanitary sewer system.

In addition, sewer overflows may also dump sewage onto city streets, which may ultimately flow into a storm drain. Storm drains are not connected to the treatment system, so everything that flows down the storm drain goes directly to the nearest body of water.

Businesses that have commercial kitch-ens are required to have a grease trap, which helps to keep the FOG out of the city’s sewer collection system. The grease trap captures and stores the fats, oils and grease until a waste hauler can properly dispose of it.

Here are a few things that citizens can do to keep your drains FOG – free:

• Place a container in the sink to catch greasy food solids, then dispose into the garbage—not in the garbage dis-posal. Strainers should not be used as they allow grease residue from the food to go down the drain.

• Pour all cooled oils and grease into a container with lid and place in garbage.

• Wipe down greasy pots and pans with a disposable cloth or paper towels be-fore washing in sink or dishwasher.

• Talk with your neighbors about pre-vention methods for the health of their home pipes and the sanitary sewer col-lection system.

A City of Valdosta FOG ordinance was established in 2010 to help protect the city’s 300 miles of sewer lines. To view this doc-ument and other helpful information, visit www.valdostacity.com/utilities or call (229) 259-3592.

Marvin T. Smith’s “One of One Hundred” (pictured above), won the Best in Show award at the 7th Annual Valdosta People’s Choice Photo Contest reception held at the Annette Howell Turner Center for the Arts on July 20. Smith’s photograph features a baby red-shouldered hawk in Drexel Park, just one of one hundred species recorded by bird watchers there.

Winning photos have become part of a traveling display that may be viewed from August until December in various city locations. Visit www.valdostacity.com/publicinfor-mation to see the photographs and to learn where the photos will be on display next.

One of One Hundred

Citizens who may be wondering what to do with old computers or televisions stored in their garag-es will be pleased to know that the Public Works Department, in part-nership with Keep Lowndes-Valdo-sta Beautiful and Atlanta Recycling Solutions, is hosting its Fall Elec-tronics Recycling Event on Satur-day, Nov. 14, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., in the parking lot of Mathis City Au-ditorium, located at 2300 N. Ashley Street.

These electronics recycling events, held every spring and fall, rain or shine, allow Valdosta citi-zens to discard used or unwanted electronics in a convenient and en-vironmentally responsible manner.

Electronics that will be accept-ed free of charge are: Desktops, Laptops, Servers, Mainframes, Network Hubs, Network Switches, Cell Phones, Desktop Phones and Systems, Keyboards/Mice, Check

Processing, Gaming Consoles, LCD Monitors, CD-ROMs, Floppy Drives, Circuit Boards, Power Sup-plies, Hard Drives, UPS and UPS Batteries, Ni-MH/Ni-CAD Batteries, Lithium Batteries, Blu-Ray Players, Cable/Wire, Gaming Controllers, Toner/Inkjet Cartridges, Printers, Fax Machines, Copiers, Scanners, Typewriters, Modems, Stereos, VCRs, Radios, DVD Players, CD Players and Dock Stations.

Televisions will be accepted for a $20 charge, and CRT PC Monitors will be accepted for a $5 charge.

The items that will not be accept-ed at the event are: CRT/Television Tubes, Projection/Console TVs, Washer/Dryers, Vacuum Cleaners, Wooden Speakers, Gas Grill Tanks, Battery Powered Tools, Liquid Containing Devices, Alkaline Bat-teries, Car Batteries, Toaster Ov-ens, De-Humidifiers, Gas Powered Tools, Household Trash, Microwave

Ovens, Radioactive Material, Hu-midifiers, Tires, Freezers, Blenders, Mixers, Ovens, Hair Dryers, Ceiling Fans and Refrigerators.

Volunteers will be available at the event to help remove items from citizens’ vehicles. For more infor-mation, contact the Public Works Department at (229) 671-3640.

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Fall Electronics Recycling Event is here!

City Announces Public Service OpportunitiesCitizens who seek a rewarding public service role in the community are encouraged to apply for the nine positions currently vacant on

the city’s boards, commissions, authorities or advisory committees. These volunteer positions, requiring only a few hours each month, are designed to give citizens a voice in their local government and allow them to influence decisions that shape the quality of life for residents in the community. Anyone who has been a resident of Lowndes County for at least six months prior to the nomination is eligible to apply.

The Mayor and City Council will evaluate the applicants and appoint individuals to the vacancies at the Nov. 5 City Council meeting. Interested citizens have until Oct. 28 to review the membership requirements, complete an application and sign the Code of Ethics form for any of the following positions:

• Valdosta-Lowndes Co. Parks & Recreation Authority (1)*• Central Valdosta Development Authority/Downtown Development Authority (3)• Valdosta Housing Authority (1)• Valdosta-Lowndes Co. Conference Center & Tourism Authority (1)• Valdosta-Lowndes Co. Development Authority (1)• Valdosta Tree Commission (1)• Valdosta-Lowndes Co. Construction Board of Adjustments & Appeals (Electrician Slot) (1) The City of Valdosta advertises for board appointments on a quarterly basis, and appointments are made in February, May, August and

November, or as vacancies occur. The city seeks to ensure all citizens are aware of opportunities to serve, to have a professional and structured process through which to seek appointments, to appoint qualified individuals who have a willingness and desire to serve, and to ensure diversity in the make-up of the entities.

For more information or to obtain the necessary forms, visit www.valdostacity.com or contact City Clerk Teresa Bolden at (229) 259-3503 or at tbolden@valdostacity.com.

*NOTE: This position, which is for an unexpired term, will be appointed at the Oct. 8 City Council meet-ing, and the application deadline is Sept. 30 at 5 p.m.

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VolunteersNeeded

If you, your business or a group you’re involved with is interested in making a pos-itive impact on our community and environ-ment, consider volunteering for the follow-ing cleanup events, coordinated by Keep Lowndes-Valdosta Beautiful:

Rivers AliveOct. 3 from 9 a.m.-12 p.m.

This event is a statewide waterway clean-up initiative. There will be multiple sites for this event, so volunteers are asked to either call or email to be assigned to a location.

Make a Difference DayOct. 24 from 9 a.m.-12 p.m.

This event is a national day of neigh-bors helping neighbors and is always the fourth Saturday in October. For this event, K.L.V.B., City of Valdosta Code Enforce-ment, and Lowndes County Code Enforce-ment work together to identify areas that are in need of cleaning up. These areas can range from neighborhoods to gateways to roadside litter pickups. Again, due to mul-tiple locations, volunteers are asked to call or email to sign up and be assigned to a location.

For more information, call the K.L.V.B. of-fice at 229-671-3698 or email astrickland@valdostacity.com.

Remember that the streets of our city are used not only by motor vehicles, but by bicyclists and pedestrians as well. Since bikes are an increasingly popular mode of transportation in the city, all citizens should be aware of the state laws regarding bicyclists. Whether you’re in a car, on a bike or on foot, it is important to be considerate of your fellow travelers and mindful

of state traffic laws. Doing so will ensure your safety and the safety of others while on the road. Click here to view Georgia’s

safety and legal information on bicyclists and pedestrians.

Share the Road

A partnership between the City of Valdo-sta and Care Environmental Corporation that began in 2007 is still working to se-cure a clean and healthy environment for future generations by providing the proper services to city residents for the disposal of hazardous household waste.

Care Environmental, a hazardous waste transfer, storage and processing facility, located at 714 Gil Harbin Industrial Boule-vard, allows city residents to discard of their household hazardous waste each Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Items considered “toxic trash” that may be dropped off at the Gil Harbin site include paint cans, aerosols, pesticides, paint thin-ner, motor oil, car batteries and almost

anything that should not typically be thrown into the city garbage cans. Words such as danger, warning, caution, poisonous and flammable on the labels can mean a prod-uct is toxic.

Although Care Environmental is a full-service environmental waste manage-ment corporation for industry, government and residential establishments, the free service is offered to Valdosta residential citizens only. Do not place household haz-ardous waste items in your recycle bin, green roll out or storm drain. For more in-formation, call the toll free number at (866) HHW-CARE or visit their website at www.careenv.com.

Dispose with toxic trash Care

Labor Day Sanitation ScheduleThe City of Valdosta will be closed on Monday, Sept. 7 in ob-

servance of Labor Day. The Sanitation Division will collect residential gar-

bage only on Sept. 7. Citizens who normally have their sanitation collected on Mondays should place their recyclables and yard waste at the curbside by 5 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 8 for both Monday and Tuesday collections.

The Public Works Department appreciates citizens’ co-operation and patience as sanitation workers do their best to pick up both routes—over 7,000 customers—on Tues-day. Since special pickups use additional vehicles and manpower, citizens are urged to minimize any calls for spe-cial pickup requests for the adjusted Labor Day schedule.

Citizens may call the Public Works Department at (229) 259-3590 for more information.

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Online auction site brings big money back to the City

Waste not, want not. The City of Valdosta is taking this wise saying to heart when it comes to disposing of specific vehicles, equipment, computers, etc., that are no longer needed. Federal and State laws require governmental entities to publicly auction off surplus items to the highest bidder or sell or transfer the items, typically for $1, to another governmental entity that is in need.

Since 2006, Purchasing Agent Greg Brown has utilized www.govdeals.com to auction off surplus items to over 50,000 bid-ders across the country – and in the process has recouped over $500,000 for the city.

Prior to 2006, the city hired an auctioneer who would sell the surplus items – everything from fire trucks to office supplies – to a local crowd of 30 to 40 bidders, bringing in a few thousand dollars

for the city. After attending a class on selling governmental surplus online, Brown now utilizes GovDeals exclusively for almost all sur-plus items with only a couple of exceptions, such as property.

The city’s online auctions drive personnel costs down and reve-nue up. Items sold online receive higher bids than the same items sold in the past at live auctions, and now only one person is need-ed to post the items online instead of several employees and an auction company.

The city sells a wide-range of unwanted items, from the inex-pensive, such as old desk chairs ($20), to the more costly, such as lawnmowers ($3,500) and old fuel tanks ($6,500).

If you are interested in buying surplus items from the City of Val-dosta, register for free at www.govdeals.com.

Don’t miss out on the last two Down-town Valdosta Farm Days of the season, taking place Sept. 5 and 19, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., around the Historic Courthouse Square.

This farmer’s market—hosted by Valdos-ta Main Street—showcases locally sourced produce, food items, and arts and crafts from surrounding areas. Vendors accept EBT, credit and debit cards.

This event was recently featured as one of the “Three Must-Try Georgia Farmer’s Markets” on the Official Georgia Tourism & Travel Site. Citizens may visit this article at http://blog.exploregeorgia.org/geor-gia-farmers-markets/.

Downtown Valdosta Farm Days take place May through September on the first and third Saturday of each month. For more information on this or any other Valdosta Main Street event, call (229) 259-3577 or visit www.valdostamainstreet.com.

Walkable ValdostaAs summer turns to fall, and the heat gives way to cooler, more enjoyable weather,

remember that our area offers numerous opportunities to soak in the beauty of nature while also staying physically active. Walking, for example, is a moderate form of exercise that is enjoyable and relatively inexpensive to pursue. Here are several examples of safe, off-street locations where citizens can walk, jog, or push a stroller to their destination while reducing vehicular traffic and becoming healthier in the process.

• Enjoy the outside walking tracks at the Wood Valley Community Center, Scott Park,

Freedom Park and Payton Park, as well as nature trails at both Freedom Park and John W. Saunders Memorial Park.

• The Valdosta Middle School (VMS) track is available after school operating hours and on the weekends. NOTE: During school hours of operations (weekdays from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.), citizens may instead utilize the sidewalk system around McKey Park (across from VMS) for another safe walking option.

• In addition to walking and jogging, the 3.5-mile Azalea City Trail—which extends from Vallotton Park to the Craig Center and along Williams Street—allows citizens to enjoy bike riding, skating and other forms of recreation.

• City sidewalks also offer great walkability options. The city currently has approximate-ly 103 miles of sidewalks, in addition to the 3.5 miles of multi-use trails.

Citizens are reminded to visit www.vlpra.com for information on a variety of outdoor recreation facilities to increase your health and fitness levels within the city limits. For addi-tional information, contact the city’s Public Information Office at (229) 259-3548.